A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Meeting Tonight on Extending the Streetcar Line to Georgetown

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT), along with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will hold a public meeting tonight to provide an update on the Union Station to Georgetown (USGT) Streetcar Environmental Assessment (EA) and to discuss potential storage and maintenance sites that have been identified for the new USGT streetcar vehicles.

The EA considers alternative approaches to extending the existing streetcar line from Union Station to Georgetown and will evaluate the environmental and cultural effects of the proposed improvements. The meetings will review updates on the alternatives and technical analysis conducted since November 2016, as well as provide information on potential storage and maintenance sites. The USGT EA is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

6 comments:

streetcar name h
said...

This is a bad idea. The streetcar is an effective mode of transportation as a shuttle between short distances.The longer route will render it more susceptible to traffic delays, illegally parked vehicles blocking the route and it will be no different than X2 which is erratic at best. The 2 mile stretch covered by streetcar is ideal. It has been on time and less prone to traffic since it runs on single stretch of street.

While you are not incorrect, this is why the streetcar needs a dedicated right-of-way as it cuts through the city. If the streetcar is built out in the same way as it is along H Street, then its viability will be limited by stupidity. However, by having a dedicated right-of-way, there will be incredible value in the streetcar extending into Georgetown.

I think they can still retroactively create a dedicated ROW on H St by making the street one lane for cars in each direction. Perhaps re-stripe so there's a center turning lane down the stretch, which will keep traffic from backing up for blocks with left-turners.